After the End
by inspiredat3AM
Summary: Life continues on after you die. The people you knew still live their lives, even if it's too difficult at times. And you would think that your life after death is much simpler since you're, well, dead. But then again, when was life, or death, ever simple?
1. Meetings

**A/N: No, I do not own Harry Potter. That all goes to JKR who is absolutely amazing. I mean honestly, what other story has made me wake up at 3AM in the morning with some crazy idea for a fanfic? Or maybe I'm just an oddball. :D**

**By the way, any bold in the story means that it's from the actual books written by J.K. Rowling.**

Some friendships lasted a lifetime, others a few years or less. Still others lasted forever until eternity.

I never thought that when I became friends with Lily Evans, I would have that last kind of friendship. At most, it was going to be for a lifetime. And then, with the Marauders (well, three of them anyway), I thought my friendship with them was only going to last until we graduated from Hogwarts.

How was I supposed to know that there really was an afterlife? It's not like the dead come back just to tell us exactly how everything goes once you die. If they did, then maybe dying wouldn't seem so bad. Or maybe it would seem even worse. I don't know.

What I do know is that it's good to have friends who are always there for you.

….

"Lily, come over here!" I yelled happily. I had only moved into my new house a few days ago and had only met Lily Evans yesterday but it didn't matter. We were friends! She was my first friend and that made her even more special. Maybe we would even become best friends forever!

It was all perfect, absolutely perfect, because she was five years old and I was the same age. And she was quite pretty but when I told Lily that, she said that she looked okay but the freckles were bothersome. To me, it didn't matter. She was born with dark red hair and bright green eyes. It was so much more interesting than my dark brown hair and boring dark brown eyes (though Lily had told me that it was a chocolate kind of brown so they _couldn't_ be boring). I wanted to make myself look interesting too but Mummy and Daddy warned me before we moved that I couldn't do that no matter what. Lily wasn't supposed to know that I was magical. That was a secret. I didn't like to keep secrets but Mummy said this was an important secret that I had to keep no matter how much I didn't like it.

But Lily didn't care that I looked all boring. She was my friend.

"What is it, Allison?" Lily asked, slightly out of breath. We had run up the hill near my new house because we had seen a pretty bluebird fly toward the only tree on the hill. "Where did the bird go?"

"I'm not sure but look! Up in the branches, do you see? There's a wind chime with a moon and stars!" Just as I said that, a light wind whistled by and moved the wind chime.

"It sounds so beautiful," Lily whispered, awed and smiling brightly.

"Let's make a wish," I proposed, "even if they aren't shooting stars, that we'll –"

"– always be friends forever and ever!" my new best friend finished.

….

Lily

Tuney and I were on the swings, swinging back and forth, back and forth. We were waiting for Ally to show up. It was going to be the first time I've seen her in a week. I really couldn't wait to show her something special that I had just found out a few days ago. It was almost like magic!

I kept on swinging higher and higher, loving the way my hair was blown back by the wind. Tuney would never go this high because Mummy said it was dangerous. But I never got hurt when I did it and it was just so fun!

**"Lily, don't do it!"** shrieked Tuney. I didn't listen; right when I got to the top, I let go of the swing. I felt like I was flying and I laughed loudly at how free I felt. I really hoped that Ally would get here soon so she could swing with me instead of Petunia. I landed back on the ground lightly after staying in the air for a while. It had almost seemed like I was a feather that floated slowly through the air.

**"Mummy told you not to!"** Tuney said as she stopped swinging. When I turned to face her, she had her hands on her hips and a frown on her face. **"Mummy said you weren't allowed, Lily!"**

I was still giggling a little as I replied, **"But I'm fine. Tuney, look at this. Watch what I can do."** Petunia looked around the park as I picked up a flower from the ground near a bush. Maybe she was looking to see if Ally was here yet. Tuney walked toward me and I could tell that she wanted to see what I could do but she didn't want to get in trouble with Mummy. When she was close enough, I concentrated a bit and made the flower's petals open and close.

Petunia wasn't amused. **"Stop it!"**

**"It's not hurting you,"** I insisted. Oh, Tuney was no fun anymore! I threw the flower back down. I noticed that Petunia had watched the flower fall. Hmmm…

**"It's not right. How do you do it?"** she wondered. So, she was curious.

**"It's obvious, isn't it?"** a boy's voice asked. I jumped a bit but Tuney screamed and ran toward the swings. Where had he come from? He had long black hair and his skin was pale but in almost a sickly way. His clothes didn't match at all and they didn't fit him.

No, it wasn't obvious so I asked him. **"What's obvious?"**

The mysterious boy looked at Petunia and then back at me before lowering his voice and saying, **"I know what you are."**

**"What do you mean?"**

**"You're…you're a witch."**

**"**_**That's**_** not a very nice thing to say to somebody!"** That was a very mean thing to say to someone you didn't know and I wished that Tuney or Ally were here to help me. I turned and started to walk toward Petunia.

"**No!"** I could hear the boy following me so I walked faster and grabbed onto one of the swing poles like Tuney was doing as soon as I reached the swing set. **"You **_**are**_**,"** he continued. **"You **_**are**_** a witch. I've been watching you for a while."** He's been _what?_ **"But there's nothing wrong with that. My mum's one, and I'm a wizard."**

He must be joking.

Petunia laughed meanly and said to the boy, **"Wizard! **_**I**_** know who **_**you**_** are. You're that Snape boy!"** She turned to me. **"They live down Spinner's End by the river,"** she told me before turning back to Snape to say, **"Why have you been spying on us?"**

"**Haven't been spying. Wouldn't spy on **_**you**_**, anyway, **_**you're**_** a Muggle,"** he said meanly. What was a Muggle?

"**Lily,"** Tuney called, **"come on, we're leaving!"** We turned away from Snape and walked away without looking back.

Allison

I was going to meet Lily and Tuney at the playground today. I hadn't seen them for a week now and I couldn't wait. I was almost to the playground now but up ahead on the path I saw two girls whom I recognized.

Before I could say a thing, the redheaded one called out, "Ally! You're back!" and ran to hug me tightly.

"Why are you two going this way? The park's the other way," I said.

"The Snape boy from Spinner's End was there, bullying us," Petunia said, wrinkling her nose.

"What? He's bad news! Mummy told me about him and his family. You don't want to get involved. But why was he bullying you? You've never done anything wrong to him."

"I don't know what he wanted," Lily said, "but he called me a witch and called Tuney a – a Muggle, I think it was."

Why in the world would Snape think Lily was a witch? She was a Muggle (I had nothing against it, she was my best friend after all) just like Tuney and Mr. and Mrs. Evans.

"Don't listen to him, Lily. He's just bitter that he doesn't have any friends like you," I reassured.

We started to walk home so we could play at either my house or the Evans' house. Stupid Snape. When we both go to Hogwarts in two years' time, I was going to find him and make him pay for upsetting my best friend.


	2. Magic

**A/N: Again, belongs to JKR and all bold is from the books. From now on, all updates will either (hopefully) be every week or every two. I still can't believe I'm doing this… Enjoy!**

Lily

Severus Snape wasn't so bad. Sure, his clothes were odd but that didn't mean he was a bad person.

We had decided to meet in the little forest that separated Spinner's End from the rest of Cokeworth where I lived. It was a summer day and it was just a bit humid but the trees shaded us and a river flowed by, glittering in the sun. We sat cross-legged, facing each other and Severus had taken off that silly coat of his.

**"…and the Ministry can punish you if you do magic outside school, you get letters,"** Severus explained.

**"But I **_**have**_** done magic outside school!"** I said worriedly. I didn't want to get punished for something I didn't know I wasn't allowed to do.

**"We're all right,"** he assured me. **"We haven't got wands yet. They let you off when you're a kid and you can't help it. But once you're eleven and they start training you, then you've got to go careful."**

Wands… I picked up a twig and twirled it, pretending that it was my wand and that there was a trail of sparks in all different colors coming out of the end of it. It seemed so real but… **"It **_**is**_** real, isn't it?"** I asked, leaning toward Severus. **"It's not a joke? Petunia says you're lying to me. Petunia says there isn't a Hogwarts. It **_**is**_** real, isn't it?"**

I had even talked to Ally about magic and Hogwarts and everything but she said that she thought I had a great imagination and that I could maybe write a story about it. I could tell though that something was weird with Ally. She was usually very straightforward with her answers but this time it almost seemed like she was avoiding it.

**"It's real for us. Not for her. But we'll get the letter, you and me."**

**"Really?"** I whispered.

**"Definitely."**

**"And will it really come by owl?"**

**"Normally. But you're Muggle-born, so someone from the school will have to come and explain to your parents."**

**"Does it make a difference, being Muggle-born?"** Oh, I hoped it didn't. A magical school wouldn't be as fun if being Muggle-born made a difference.

Severus took a second to think before he spoke again. **"No. It doesn't make any difference."**

**"Good."**

**"You've got loads of magic. I saw that. All the time I was watching you…"**

I didn't really listen to what he said but just stretched out on the ground and stared at the leaves overhead being illuminated by the sun. I liked this. It felt nice but…

**"How are things at your house?"** I asked.

**"Fine,"** he said, trying to sound calm. His life at home wasn't too great and I wished it was better. A nice person didn't deserve to have a bad family.

**"They're not arguing anymore?"**

**"Oh, yes, they're arguing. But it won't be that long and I'll be gone."**

**"Doesn't your dad like magic?"** I wondered how my parents would react to magic.

**"He doesn't like anything, much."**

Maybe we should talk about something else.

**"Severus?"**

**"Yeah?"**

**"Tell me about the dementors again."**

**"What d'you want to know about them for?"** Severus had mentioned them once but he didn't really say too much.

**"If I use magic outside school –"**

**"They wouldn't give you to the dementors for that! Dementors are for people who do really bad stuff. They guard the wizard prison, Azkaban. You're not going to end up in Azkaban, you're too –"** he stopped, sounding just a smidge embarrassed.

Just then, a rustling noise behind one of the trees made us both turn. It was Petunia. What was she doing here? Not that I really minded but still.

**"Tuney!"**

Severus didn't look happy to see Tuney and jumped to his feet, shouting at my sister, **"Who's spying now? What d'you want?"**

**"What is that you're wearing, anyway? Your mum's blouse?"** she asked as she pointed to Severus's shirt.

_Crack_.

A branch that was right over Tuney was falling. I couldn't do anything but scream as I watched it hit Tuney's shoulder and made her stagger backward. She burst into tears as I said, **"Tuney!"**

She ran away and didn't turn around. I turned toward Severus. **"Did you make that happen?"** I demanded.

**"No."** I could tell he was sort of scared but his voice also had something else that I couldn't quite figure out. It was almost like he was upset that I thought he had made the branch fall.

**"You did!"** I said, backing away. **"You **_**did**_**! You hurt her!"**

**"No – no I didn't!"**

I looked at him angrily and then ran off in the direction that Tuney had gone. I knew he didn't like Petunia but that didn't mean he could use magic to hurt her! That was an _awful_ way to use magic.

Allison

Mum and I were sitting in the Evans' kitchen with Mrs. Evans when Petunia came in crying.

"Mummy!" she cried, "Mummy!"

"What is it, Petunia? Why are you crying?" Mrs. Evans asked as she hugged Petunia.

"It's – It's that boy Snape! He – He did something and then a branch fell and hit me and it hurts!"

As Mrs. Evans soothed her daughter, Mum and I exchanged a look. Snape had used magic in front of a Muggle. Hopefully, Petunia didn't think too much of it because Muggles weren't supposed to know about magic. Stupid Snape. We weren't even in school yet and he was causing trouble.

Petunia had calmed down enough that she had stopped crying. "Hey, Allison, guess what?" she said, turning to me. "Lily's been hanging out with Snape more than she's been hanging out with you! Maybe she doesn't want to be friends with you anymore because you're so boring!"

"Petunia!" Mrs. Evans scolded.

"What? I'm just telling the truth so that Allison isn't fooled by Lily."

Snape was going to pay dearly.

….

Lily

There was a knock on the front door. I peeked out of the living room as Dad opened the door. A man with long silver hair and a matching beard was shaking hands with Dad. He was tall and thin and wore a nice suit. Dad welcomed the man into the house and led him toward the living room. I plopped onto an armchair and grabbed the book I had left on the seat and pretended to read as the two walked in.

"Lily, dear, this is Professor Dumbledore," Dad said, glancing at the man to make sure he got the name right. The man nodded. "He is the headmaster of a school that would like you to enroll for this September."

I looked up into the man's face. He had bright blue eyes that seemed to sparkle behind his half-moon spectacles and his nose was long and crooked as if it had been broken before. "Hello, sir. It's nice to meet you," I greeted politely.

"The same to you, Miss Evans," Professor Dumbledore smiled kindly.

"Would you like to sit?" Dad asked, gesturing to the armchair opposite mine. "I'll go get my wife."

A minute later, Mum and Dad, and even Tuney, were in the living room and sitting on the couch between the two armchairs.

"Now," Professor Dumbledore started, "this may be hard to believe, but your daughter, Lily, is magical."

"Magic?" Mum asked, bewildered.

"Yes, magic." Professor Dumbledore pulled out a stick from his pocket – his wand! – and waved it through the air. A lovely bouquet of lilies appeared out of nowhere and floated toward Mum. Mum and Dad watched, amazed. Petunia stared disbelievingly at the flowers with her mouth slightly open.

"So this school of yours? Does it teach magic?" Dad asked.

"Hogwarts is a magical school located in Scotland where many of Britain's young witches and wizards gather to learn how to use and control their magic. Will you allow your daughter to attend?"

Mum and Dad spoke to each other in whispers for a few minutes before Mum finally turned to me and asked, "Lily, dear, do you want to go to Hogwarts?"

I could barely contain my excitement. I grinned and said, "Yes! Yes, I really would like to go, Mum and Dad. Could I please? Please?"

They agreed and Professor Dumbledore handed me a letter with emerald green writing on the front. Petunia stomped out of the room quite loudly but I didn't care. I was getting my Hogwarts letter! I had magic!

HOGWARTS SCHOOL

_of_ WITCHCRAFT _and_ WIZARDRY

Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,_

_Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

Dear Miss Evans,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall,

_Deputy Headmistress_

I was going to Hogwarts, just like Severus said! Oh, I couldn't wait!

I almost forgot that I was going to be leaving Ally behind. I hoped she would be alright when I was at Hogwarts.

….

Allison

A brown owl tapped on my window as I sat on my bed reading a book. It held an envelope addressed to me in emerald green ink in its beak.

My Hogwarts letter!

I took the letter, gave the owl a treat and watched it soar away before opening the envelope.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL

_of_ WITCHCRAFT _and_ WIZARDRY

Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,_

_Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

Dear Miss Jones,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall,

_Deputy Headmistress_

A smile broke out on my face as I read the letter. Hogwarts, here I come!

….

Severus

"Severus," my mother called. "Your letter's here."

She stuck out her arm at me and handed me my Hogwarts letter. I took it excitedly and tore open the envelope.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL

_of_ WITCHCRAFT _and_ WIZARDRY

Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,_

_Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

Dear Mr. Snape,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall,

_Deputy Headmistress_

Yes! Finally! I was going to leave for Hogwarts at last!


	3. And So It Begins

**A/N: I know it's been kinda boring so far and it's gonna be like that for a while so bear with me please? Reviews are definitely appreciated! And as with before, bold text in the story comes from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Chapter 23, The Prince's Tale, pp. 669 – 672).**

**Disclaimer: Everything (except my stuff obviously) belongs to J.K. Rowling. *sigh* **

Mum and Dad and I walked through King's Cross station. I tried to push my trolley carrying my trunk and my new snowy owl (which I had named Marshmallow) at an even pace so as not to bring too much attention to myself. We were getting closer to platforms nine and ten. I was almost there!

In just a few minutes, I was going to board the scarlet colored Hogwarts Express from platform nine and three-quarters and be on my way to Hogwarts!

"Alright, sweetie, this is it," Mum said as she pointed out the wall that I was to go through. I watched as Dad leaned on the wall and suddenly disappeared through it. "You go first, Ally, dear. I'll follow you right after."

I maneuvered the trolley toward the wall and leaned back, pulling the trolley along with me through the magical barrier. As soon as I was through, Mum appeared and the three of us walked along the platform. Looking around, I was amazed at all the things I saw despite having grown up in a magical family. My parents stopped once in a while to talk to some friends.

I spotted the Evans family near the middle of the train and Snape with his mother near them. We were close enough to hear what Lily and Tuney were saying.

**"…I'm sorry, Tuney, I'm sorry! Listen –"** Lily said as she grabbed onto Petunia's hand. **"Maybe once I'm there – no, listen, Tuney!"** Petunia kept trying to break free from Lily's grasp. **"Maybe once I'm there, I'll be able to go to Professor Dumbledore and persuade him to change his mind!"**

**"I don't – want – to – go!"** Petunia retorted as she continued trying to tug herself free. **"You think I want to go to some stupid castle and learn to be a – a –"**

She looked around the platform and tried to find a suitable word for this world she saw; there were cats and owls everywhere and a few students were already dressed in their black school robes.

"– **you think I want to be a – a freak?"** Lily looked as though she was about to cry and Petunia finally pulled her hand free.

"**I'm not a freak. That's a horrible thing to say."**

"**That's where you're going. A special school for freaks. You and that Snape boy…weirdos, that's what you two are. It's good you're being separated from normal people. It's for our safety."**

Jeez, Petunia was really upset by all of this. And her words reminded me of how I had been replaced as Lily's best friend by Severus Snape and that upset _me_. Still, I didn't like to see Lily hurt in any way and Mr. and Mrs. Evans were too busy taking everything in to reprimand their eldest daughter. But I should have known that Lily wasn't one to let someone walk all over her.

"**You didn't think it was such a freak's school when you wrote to the headmaster and begged him to take you."**

"**Beg! I didn't beg!"** said Petunia indignantly as she turned red in the face.

"**I saw his reply. It was very kind."**

"**You shouldn't have read – that was my private – how could you –?"** I strained to hear Petunia's whispered response. Then she gasped loudly. **"That boy found it! You and that boy have been sneaking in my room!"**

"**No – not sneaking – Severus saw the envelope, and he couldn't believe a Muggle could have contacted Hogwarts, that's all! He says there must be wizards working undercover in the postal service who take care of –"**

But she was cut off by her sister, **"Apparently wizards poke their noses in everywhere! **_**Freak!**_**"** Petunia was very pale as she walked away toward her parents. I had started walking toward Lily but a large group of sixth years blocked my path, laughing and jumping around. Once they had passed, Lily was gone, probably already on the train.

Lily

I had somehow ended up in a compartment with two boys who looked about my age. They were loud but didn't bother me as I sat in the corner with my face pressed against the windowpane. I was glad they ignored me; I really didn't want them to ask why I had been crying. The compartment door slid open and the person who came in sat down opposite me. It was Severus.

**"I don't want to talk to you."** It was hard to get the words out of my throat.

**"Why not?"**

**"Tuney h-hates me. Because we saw that letter from Dumbledore."**

**"So what?"** he asked carelessly. I glared at him for being stupid.

**"So she's my sister!"**

**"She's only a –"** he stopped for a second when he saw me attempt to wipe my eyes secretly. **"But we're going!"** Severus continued excitedly. **"This is it! We're off to Hogwarts!"**

I nodded and felt myself smile just a little.

**"You'd better be in Slytherin."**

James

Did that pale black-haired boy just say that? Who would want to be in Slytherin when there was Gryffindor? I almost felt sorry for that redheaded girl.

**"Slytherin? Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"** I asked the dark-haired boy sitting casually in the seat across from me.

**"My whole family have been in Slytherin,"** he said with a hard look in his eyes.

**"Blimey and I thought you seemed all right!"** I said, surprised. I hoped that I didn't just make an enemy for myself. We weren't even near Hogwarts yet!

The boy suddenly broke out in a wide smile and said, **"Maybe I'll break the tradition. Where are you heading, if you've got the choice?"**

I lifted an invisible sword in front of me and puffed out my chest slightly. **"'Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart!' Like my dad."** The pale boy made a noise. **"Got a problem with that?"**

**"No,"** he said but I could tell he was lying. **"If you'd rather be brawny than brainy –"**

The boy opposite me (did he mention his name?) cut the other boy off and asked him, **"Where're you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?"**

I laughed out loud. That was good! It would be nice if we were in the same house (Gryffindor!) and became friends. The girl stood up and looked at us with dislike.

**"Come on, Severus, let's find another compartment."**

**"Oooooo…"**

**"'Come on, Severus,'"** I imitated in a high girly voice, **"'let's find another compartment!'"**

I stuck my foot out in front of Severus and he tripped but managed to catch himself in time.

**"See ya, Snivellus!"** my (maybe?) new friend called out just before the compartment door slammed shut.

Sirius

The door to our compartment closed and only the boy with glasses and messy hair was left with me. He stuck out his hand and introduced himself.

"James Potter. That was a stroke of genius, that name!" he snickered.

"Sirius Black," I said, shaking hands.

"So do you really not want to go to Slytherin?"

"Nah. I don't exactly like my family to be honest. Might as well have some fun."

There was a small stretch of quiet where James looked out the window and I stared out the door. Outside, a sandy-haired boy and a girl with dark brown hair were walking by our compartment with their trunks. A few seconds later, they doubled back.

"Excuse me, is it alright if we sit here?" the girl asked in a soft voice. "Some fourth years made us leave the compartment we were in before."

James and I looked at each other. "Go ahead," James said.

"Thank you," said the boy and the two dragged their trunks (and the girl's caged owl) inside.

Once we were settled back down, we all introduced ourselves to each other. The boy was Remus Lupin and the girl was Allison Jones. They were first years, too.

The whole ride, James and I were the loudest. Remus and Allison were quiet but Allison seemed shier than Remus. Still… there was something about her…

Allison

The train ride to Hogwarts was interesting, to say the least. James and Sirius were quite lively and entertaining and I wasn't so scared of leaving home. It turned out that all of us wanted to be in Gryffindor. I hope that they'll let us choose! It would be nice to already know some people and have some friends. Well, I wasn't really sure about being friends with James and Sirius – they were a tad arrogant. Remus seemed like he would be a good friend.

All too soon, the Hogwarts Express pulled into Hogsmeade station. When the four of us stepped onto the platform, a loud voice called out into the cool night.

"Firs' years! All firs' years over here!" The voice belonged to a very large man with a wild, bushy beard and warm black eyes. He waited a few minutes to make sure that all the first years were gathered around him before saying, "Everyone here? Alright, follow me!"

We walked and walked through the dark wondering where we were going. Finally, we reached the edge of a great black lake and saw Hogwarts castle ahead of us. It was amazing! All around me I heard gasps of wonder and excited whispers.

The man spoke again, "That's the castle there and we'll be heading over on these boats here. Four to a boat only."

James, Sirius, Remus and I all piled into one of the small boats as everyone else did the same. In a few moments, the fleet of boats was moving forward toward our new home for the next seven years.


	4. Sorting Out Hogwarts

**A/N: So I only realized a few days before I posted this that Ally didn't have a reaction to Lily last chapter. Instead, it was here and I forgot that Ally saw Lily on the platform so… yeah, my bad. Hopefully, this is all going to be okay and work out and stuff. Reviews please! (Seriously, that's what made me realize the mistake in the first place!) And again, I don't own Harry Potter… *sigh***

Professor McGonagall, who seemed like a very strict (but hopefully fair) teacher, led us through the Great Hall. Dad had told me about the ceiling of the Great Hall and I looked at it as we walked. The night sky was cloudless and full of brilliantly glittering stars. We made it to the end of the hall where the teachers sat and Professor McGonagall pulled out a tall stool and placed the Sorting Hat on it.

I watched as the Sorting Ceremony began. Sirius was one of the first ones to be sorted and, to his surprise and happiness, was put into Gryffindor. Then, when I saw a head of familiar dark red hair in the crowd of first years, I almost fell to the floor. Lily! Lily was here! She was a witch! She had magic! And Severus, he knew – he knew before I did. And Lily didn't even know that I was here…

And how thick could I get?! Lily was on the platform! Argh, my brain was getting all muddled and _how did I not realize on the platform that Lily was a witch?!_ I felt the need to smash my head against the wall; honestly, how did I not realize? Some best friend I was…

As I was thinking, Lily had been placed in Gryffindor with Sirius and my name was being called.

"Jones, Allison!"

I sat on the stool and Professor McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat on my head. I kept thinking _Please, let me be in Gryffindor. Please…_ and almost didn't hear the hat roar "Gryffindor!" for all of the Great Hall to hear. I sat down at the Gryffindor table opposite Sirius and Lily; Sirius grinned at me when I sat down and I returned the smile. Soon, Remus, a boy named Peter, and James joined our table. Remus sat on Lily's other side and I ended up sitting between James (who was directly across from Sirius) and Peter. Snape, meanwhile, had been sorted into Slytherin which I thought was perfect for him.

After the Sorting Ceremony, Professor Dumbledore gave a short speech welcoming us first years for the first time and welcoming the other students back to Hogwarts. Then, the four house tables were heavily laden by the immense amount of delicious looking food that had magically appeared before us. The noise in the Great Hall grew steadily as everyone tucked into the Welcoming Feast.

"Ally, why didn't you tell me you were a witch? All those years together…" Lily trailed off. There was a note of disappointment in her voice.

"Well, you never mentioned a thing to me about you being magical either! Especially once you started hanging out with Snape. I thought we were supposed to be best friends, Lily!" I said, trying to rein in my anger. I was glad that Lily was here but it still hurt to know that I was no longer her best friend.

"We still are!"

"No," I argued, "we aren't anymore. If we were, you would've told me you were going to Hogwarts, at least."

Lily scoffed. "You wouldn't have believed me. Remember that time I asked about magic? You just said that I had a great imagination; you didn't tell me you knew about magic."

"Well, I thought you were Muggle! You never showed any signs of magical ability. If you at least mentioned going to Hogwarts I would've told you everything! But no, instead, you run off and become best friends with Snape!"

"Fine, then! We are no longer friends."

I chewed my bottom lip and willed myself not to cry (especially in front of boys). It was her fault for not telling me. If she didn't want to be friends, then I wouldn't either.

Lily

What was the matter with her? It's not _my_ fault. _She_ is the one to blame. _She_ didn't believe me! Best friends weren't supposed to act like this…

No! No tears, Lily! Just move on.

Sirius

What was it with girls? They always made such a big deal out of nothing. Their arguing was starting to make my head hurt and that made it hard to completely enjoy my meal. James and I shared a look and I think he was thinking the same thing that I was. They were all the same.

Well, no, maybe not. There was something odd about Allison. I could've sworn that her eyes and hair flashed a bright red for a moment when she was arguing with the girl next to me (Lily, was it?). But maybe I was just seeing things.

The feast ended eventually and we were all led to Gryffindor tower. The entrance was hidden by a large portrait of a fat lady. Oddly enough, the painting was actually called the Fat Lady. Once inside, we were pointed to our dormitories; the girls went up one staircase and the boys up another.

Our room held five four-poster beds all with deep red curtains. Our trunks and other belongings were on the floor in front of the beds.

"I call this one!" James yelled as he flung himself onto the middle bed that faced the door. I rolled my eyes at him and dragged my trunk to the bed on the right of James'. Remus took the other bed next to James' and Peter, who looked even more timid than Remus, cautiously sat down on the bed farthest on the left side of the room. The bed to the right of mine was left empty.

After all the green and silver and black at home, I felt relieved as I took in the reds and golds of Gryffindor house.

The four of us stayed up talking a bit before we all showered and went to bed.

Allison

Lily and I were silent as the other girls in our year chattered happily. Mary Macdonald, Robin Teller and Joanne Grayson had already become the best of friends and had claimed the three beds on the left side of the room. That forced Lily and me to the two beds next to each other on the right side of the room. Well, this was going to be awkward.

I was the first to bed and the others didn't follow until about an hour later. Tomorrow couldn't come quick enough.

…..

The next day at breakfast, Professor McGonagall and three other teachers walked along their house tables passing out timetables to the students. Lily and I, despite having left the dormitory at the same time, sat with a few students separating us; we were still refusing to even acknowledge each other.

I saw that once people received their schedules they began to swap them with their friends and try to work out when they would have breaks together. First and second years were the only ones who didn't do this as we shared the same classes with the rest of our house's year. When I got my timetable from McGonagall, I realized that I had absolutely no idea whatsoever on how to get anywhere in the castle. Mum and Dad have told me so much about Hogwarts but the only thing that they couldn't adequately explain was how to get around the school. Judging from the conversation between Sirius, James and Remus, they didn't know how to navigate the school either. Well, that was just perfect. In a few minutes, I had finished breakfast and went back to Gryffindor tower to leave the books I wouldn't need before lunch. Ugh, finding classes was going to be a pain.

Even though I had been surrounded by magic as I grew up, everything that I started learning in classes seemed so new and almost unfamiliar. Honestly, the only way I would've had a head start was if I had started studying years ago. And if I was a genius. Meanwhile, three possible geniuses began to appear within the first year Gryffindors as the day went on: Lily Evans, James Potter and Sirius Black. Lily, I knew, had always been clever but James and Sirius didn't look or act like they had brains. It was unfair! Especially since they were all going to be decently good looking in the future, too.

An hour before lunch, my stomach gave an angry growl which, surprisingly, no one heard. The moment the bell rang, I packed my bag at lightning speed and rushed out of the classroom. Jeez, I was so hungry! The Gryffindor table was almost empty when I reached the Great Hall; I decided to claim a seat near the teachers' table. In about five minutes, the whole hall filled and the noise level nearly destroyed my ears.

"In a bit of a hurry, weren't we, Jones?" Sirius teased as he dropped into the seat opposite mine. James and Remus sat down on either side of me and Peter was on Sirius' left. "I could have sworn I heard someone's stomach go. Was it yours?"

"Did my stomach's yelling annoy you? I'm sorry, but I do love to eat."

"I wouldn't have figured that out by the mountain of food on your plate, I'm sure," said James sarcastically. I elbowed him gently without stopping the flow of food to my mouth. The boys laughed as they started eating lunch. As they talked with one another over me, I glanced down the table and saw that Lily had chosen to sit with the other girls in our dormitory. A sadness filled me as I watched her smile and laugh with them; I almost jumped out of my seat and apologized to her but I was still upset and her natural talent for magic made things worse.

"Are you alright, Allison?" Remus asked, pulling me away from my thoughts.

"Yeah, fine."

"You sure?"

"Mhm," I mumbled. I stuffed some food in my mouth to avoid further questions from Remus. Even if his questions were pretty normal, his quick glances at me through the rest of lunch made me suspect that he could be quite perceptive when he wanted to be. Fantastic, another smart person.

…..

Over the next few weeks, all the first years had separated into different groups. Of course, it was the normal "boys in one group and girls in another" kind of thing but we were all further divided by our houses. That didn't mean we didn't intermingle with one another but it was rare for first years to do so. Maybe that was why Mary, Robin and Joanne were all ignoring me: I usually hung around with the boys. I would have liked to become friends with the girls but I couldn't really do that when they refused to even look at me. Was it my fault that Lily and I weren't on speaking terms? Well, yes, partially, but still!

No, don't do that, Ally! Don't you dare guilt-trip yourself into apologizing to Lily when part of this was her doing! I felt myself getting angry and realized nervously that I had to calm down before my hair and eyes flashed bright red. Ugh, I needed to learn some self-control. Merlin knows I've never been any good at it. And I really didn't need people knowing I was a Metamorphmagus. There would be people who thought it was cool and interesting but I always had a feeling that there might also be people who didn't trust me because I could change my appearance at will. And Lily would probably be angry that I didn't tell her this either. Ugh.


	5. Uncomfortable

**A/N: So I _was_ going to post this on Friday… but then I realized that I would be on a cruise until Saturday morning so I'll maybe start posting on Fridays next week? Dunno but enjoy! Hope it's all good and reviews, please! And, no, I didn't forget that Harry Potter still belongs to JKR.**

Lily

I wondered how Ally was. I saw her with those stupid boys all the time and I saw her smiling and laughing but she seemed so quiet when we were in our dormitory. There wasn't any way that I was going to apologize to her (yet) but that didn't mean that I didn't miss her. I liked the other girls but Ally and I have known each other for half our lives. It wasn't something that could be easily forgotten. Not even when I was with Severus.

"I'm just a bit worried about Ally," I said to Severus one weekend. We were sitting at a table that was in a far corner of the library. Madam Pince, the librarian, always glared at us if we sat anywhere in her line of sight.

"Why? She's friends with those idiots," Severus said bitterly without looking up from his Potions book. Recently, Potter and Black had been teasing and hexing and jinxing Severus whenever they got the chance. Lupin and Pettigrew never took part but they never did anything to stop it either so they were just as bad. Severus tried not to dislike Ally for my sake but I knew that he resented anyone who associated with the four of them.

"She seems different. I remember that she was always usually very happy and –"

"What? Laughing doesn't mean you're happy?"

"It does, usually. But I can tell that Ally isn't actually happy."

"Well, too bad for her," Severus shrugged. "It's her fault that she gave up her only friend for Potter and Black. What does anyone see in them anyway?"

"I dunno." After that, we fell into a comfortable silence and I learned not to mention Ally to him since he would always bring the conversation to Potter and Black.

…..

Allison

As the weeks went by and Christmas crept closer and closer, the boys became so tight-knit that I had moved to the edges of their little group. It wasn't as if I was the best of friends with them to start with and it didn't really bother me. The only thing that bothered me was that I was basically a loner. Maybe if I was a sixth or seventh year I could pull it off as being cool and untouchable but now it was just sad.

One morning, when I woke up about two hours before the other girls, I walked into the bathroom in our room to take a morning shower before the day started. Out of the shower I went and into the mirror I looked. What the –? My hair was gray. Not some nice-looking gray color (if there was one) but some kind of washed out gray. What? I haven't even turned twelve yet!

I screwed up my face and concentrated on my actual hair color. Whew. It was just my emotions controlling my Metamorphmagusing. I skipped down the stairs to the common room as the other girls began to stir. The common room was empty and chilly (the fire had died down and it hadn't been relit yet) and I didn't feel like staying there anyway. I was the first to the Great Hall, even before the teachers.

The sunlight was shining weakly through the large windows around the hall and the ceiling was a cloudy gray. The silence was almost deafening; I was much more used to the loud voices and laughter that normally filled the hall. I walked slowly toward the teachers' table and climbed up onto the platform it was situated on. I turned around to look at the empty hall with my hands holding my elbows. The calm was beautiful and I forgot my loneliness for a few moments (don't ask how, I don't know either).

"It's strange how we can feel so strongly about the smallest things, isn't it, Miss Jones?" a voice said quietly behind me. I wasn't startled at all because the voice seemed to fit the atmosphere: calm and wise.

"It is, Professor," I answered (even though I had not a clue as to what he was talking about), turning to look at Professor Dumbledore.

"Now, what could have gotten a student like you out of bed so early? I'm sure it couldn't have been the glorious view of the Great Hall," he said with a twinkle in his bright blue eyes.

"I'm not sure, but I definitely don't mind. I see now why this is the Great Hall."

We stood there in silence for a bit before another teacher called for Dumbledore. He bade me goodbye and I did the same before walking to the Gryffindor table. I sat with my head propped up on my hands and my elbows on the table. My eyes drifted all around watching dust particles move through the air. I loved loud, bright energy but I found that simple, beautiful peace was just as filling.

"What are you staring at, Jones?" someone asked, shattering my contented feeling. "And why in Merlin's name is your hair _white_?"

I hadn't moved but my eyes widened suddenly. Oh no! My head whipped around and took in Sirius' bewildered expression. In my peripheral vision I could see that several people had come down for breakfast but, thankfully, none of them were looking in my direction.

I quickly turned my hair back to its normal color and asked confusedly, "What're you talking about? My hair's brown."

"No, it wasn't before. It was like this pure white –"

"You sure you still aren't sleeping? I know that your brain has some trouble working this early in the morning."

"Excuse me, but who has some of the best grades in our year?" he asked, sitting down next to me. He was completely sidetracked by my insult, just as I had hoped.

"Are you talking about me?" James said as he sat opposite Sirius. Remus and Peter followed suit. "It's okay to admit it; I know I'm quite the astounding specimen."

I snorted and filled my cup with some tea (pumpkin juice was just… _weird_) which, along with the rest of breakfast, had just appeared on the tables. And again, like every other day, every other week, I simply faded into the background.

Once I had finished, I got up and said goodbye to the boys (which I'm sure they didn't hear). As I walked out of the Great Hall, Lily and the other girls walked in. They all ignored me but I could have sworn that Lily – dare I say it? – looked worried when she snuck a peek at me. Well, I thought, seems I won't be the first one to crack.

Sirius

What was with that white hair? All through breakfast I had an urge to pester Ally but the way she avoided it told me that she clearly didn't want to mention it. We're not exactly close but what else was someone going to do if you had brown hair one day and white the next? They'd be concerned, wouldn't they?

I watched as she walked past the other Gryffindor first year girls without so much as a glance. Evans did look but I couldn't tell what her expression was from this far away. Was Ally that shy that she didn't really talk to others (I doubted this a bit) or was there something else?

"Where are you, Sirius?" James' voice floated through my mind and interrupted my musings.

"Still in bed." I faked a yawn. This somehow made me think of Ally's earlier comment about my brain not being quite awake yet. Stupid brain.

"But we're in the Great Hall," Peter pointed out. I tried not to roll my eyes. I failed. You could only be so idiotic in the morning.

I put Ally's hair out of my mind and focused on the conversation that I had been ignoring. James and I wanted to have this huge prank right before Christmas break (which hopefully involved embarrassing Snivellus in front of everyone because it was just so much fun) and Remus and Peter were helping us plan it out. We needed something exciting to happen because the last exciting thing that had happened around here was a fifth year Hufflepuff being chased around the grounds one afternoon last week by a Niffler. We felt it was our duty to bring some life into this ancient school. Least we could do after it had caused us so much pain when trying to get to classes. That reminded me…

"Hey, maybe we could get Peeves to help?" I suggested. The others lit up and we threw around some more ideas before Remus reminded us that we had class. Spoilsport…

…..

Allison

Ah, Christmas break! I was torn between staying at the castle for the holidays and going home to see Mum and Dad. On the one hand, the girls' dormitory was going to be empty as they were all going to go home and on the other, Lily was going home and would therefore be next door to me if I went home as well. Fantastic.

I really missed laughing and smiling and just being happy with Lily like I did before Snape showed up. Speaking of Snape, he and Lily were definitely best friends. There was no doubt about it. Stupid slimy git. If he hadn't pushed himself into her life, I would still have a best friend. I think I may just forgive Lily but there was no way that I was going to accept Snape too and knowing her, she'll want that. Well, at least Snape was staying at Hogwarts for Christmas (or so I thought). Oh, jeez, okay I was going home then.

…..

The day before the start of break was hectic and that was putting it mildly. Someone had decided to set off whole bunches of Dungbombs in the school's most crowded areas right after breakfast. My poor nose was almost destroyed and I was about ready to kill whoever did it. The only people who avoided the horrid smell were the ones who knew the Bubble-Head Charm. They looked ridiculous but at least they could _breathe_. Urgh.

Then, in the middle of lunch, the whole Slytherin table suddenly burst out in Christmas carols. Laughter rang out in the Great Hall but the loudest were probably James and Sirius. Why do I suddenly have a feeling that they were behind all of this?

I walked over to where they sat with Remus and Peter. The four were all shaking uncontrollably but James had somehow managed to fall out of his seat and landed on the floor with a dull thump.

I stood looking down at James on the floor with my hands on my hips. Screw how obvious it looked. I really wanted to know how they did this. Geniuses! But I didn't let that show – their egos were big enough already and it was only barely halfway through first year. "This was your doing, I just know it. All of you somehow managed to do this."

"Do you really think that, Allison? We're only first years," said James, picking himself up off the floor.

"There's no way we could've done all of that," Remus added reasonably. I was starting to believe them when, right then, a high-pitched screech echoed around the hall. As one, everyone turned to the Slytherins again (they had finished singing by now) to see a small, thin figure run out of the Great Hall while Peeves pulled the clothes off of whomever it was. Judging by the greasy-looking black hair, it was Snape.

"Sure you didn't do _that_?" I asked the boys sarcastically. Every first year knew by now that any insult or hex thrown at Snape usually came from either James or Sirius. I wasn't sure what they had against him but I didn't complain. They were unknowingly helping me get back at Snape.

"We're sure because the one doing it is Peeves. Maybe he just doesn't like Snivellus and wants to make fun of him," Peter said. I shook my head slightly but let it drop. I was annoyed at the Dungbombs but at least the rest of it was funny. Christmas was going to be quiet without these pranksters.

…..

Christmas! It was here! It had snowed during the night and the world outside my house was hidden by a huge fluffy blanket of pure white. Merlin, it was gorgeous! As I sat at my window in my room, the sun danced off the snow and made it all sparkle.

"Allison, dear, come down for breakfast if you're up!" Mum called up the stairs.

"Coming, Mum!" I yelled back as I threw on my favorite dark green jumper over my pajamas. I flew down the stairs and past the Christmas tree we had decorated yesterday and into the dining room. Mum was sitting at the table eating already and Dad came in from the kitchen with my breakfast. Waffles! With strawberry sauce and whipped cream! Oh my stars, my favorite!

"Okay, what do I have to do?" I asked warily.

"What do you mean, Allison?" Dad asked innocently.

"I only get my favorite breakfast when you two want me to do something."

"I told you she's grown up now, love," Mum told Dad. She turned to me. "We just want you to help with Christmas dinner if you can. We're having the Evans family and another family that Lily invited."

So that's why they had to bribe me. Lily and Petunia _and Snape_ (because who else would Lily think to bring? And to think he was going to stay at Hogwarts…) were going to be here and I wasn't on good terms with _any_ of them. Jumping Morgana.

After breakfast, Mum, Dad and I were in the living room opening our presents that sat under the Christmas tree. It wasn't much and none of the presents were really memorable but I liked spending time with my parents. It was weird that I didn't see them every day in the morning and evenings anymore (although I did enjoy the freedom a bit).

All too soon, the three of us were in the kitchen preparing dinner. Mum and Dad were cooking the actual dinner while I got to make dessert (Yes, they let the eleven year old bake a cake by herself.) and set the table. The doorbell rang just as I started setting the table for ten people. (Go magic and Undetectable Extension Charms!)

"Hello, Happy Christmas!" I welcomed, opening the door and letting everyone in.

"Hi, Ally!" Lily bubbled. Of course she would act like nothing's wrong between us. Actually, that was a good idea – I really didn't want the adults asking questions.

"Hi, again," I giggled as if we were still best friends. I greeted the rest of her family and politely introduced myself to Snape and his family before bringing them into the living room.

Dinner was… extremely awkward. Mr. and Mrs. Snape kept to themselves and we four kids weren't talking to each other; we were barely looking at one another. Lily and I attempted to have something resembling a conversation but we weren't a big part of each other's lives anymore and didn't have much to say. It was obvious that all four of us wanted this to be over as soon as possible.

I don't know about anyone else but I wanted, I dunno… the food to explode or something! Unfortunately, the world wasn't in the mood and decided that we should all be tortured until Mr. and Mrs. Evans decided to call it a night. It was nearly midnight for crying out loud! How could they have withstood all of that – that… ugh. Forget it. I was too tired; the moment the front door shut, I collapsed onto the couch. At least this wasn't happening for New Year's as well.

…..

The train ride back started as almost absolutely uneventful. I had managed to find myself an empty compartment and I was writing poems (Probably none of them were that amazing, really, but it wasn't like anyone was going to read them.) when my writing book was snatched out of my hands.

"Hey! What're you -? Sirius Black! Give that back to me right now!"

"Or what? What is this anyway?" he wondered. He held the book open high above his head where I couldn't reach. I was going to murder the idiot.

"Don't read it!" I tried to sound threatening but I had a feeling that there was no way I was ever going to do that. I climbed onto the seats, grabbed my book back, and stuffed it into my satchel. Jeez, I hoped he didn't see anything.

"So what was that?" Sirius asked. He threw himself onto the seat opposite mine with a grace that shouldn't have been possible for a twelve year old (his birthday was sometime in late September or early October).

"None of your business," I snapped. "Where are the others anyway?"

"Busy."

"Doing pranks? Pulling the clothes off Snape? Swiping candy?"

"No! We would never steal from the trolley lady! That's mean!" cried Sirius.

"But you didn't deny the others."

"Well…"

I rolled my eyes. "So why aren't you with them doing whatever it is they're doing? Aren't you all best friends by now?"

"Well I just saw you in here alone and thought you might want some company," he answered with innocent puppy dog eyes. Right, like that was really it. I simply raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh forget it!"

"Hmmm… that didn't go as planned," James mused as he, Remus and Peter walked into the compartment from where they had been standing right outside of my eyesight. Were they really trying to prank me now? Great.

"You had a plan? You actually _think_?" I mocked James.

"Usually, but you didn't act like how I thought you would."

"And how did you think I would act?"

Remus shook his head and sighed, "He thought you were going to become all giggly and girly like every other girl. He and Sirius have been 'doing research' on the best ways to get a girl."

"That proves it. Those two may be good at school but they are actually quite stupid in everything else."

"Hey! We're right here!" James exclaimed.

So much for an empty compartment and a quiet ride back to Hogwarts. And why did I feel like I had butterflies in my stomach? I wasn't going to be sick was I? Maybe staring out the window would help…

Sirius

Allison was interesting. Not that I liked her like that or anything. She was kind of plain and too quiet sometimes. There wasn't anything really remarkable about her. But what was it that she was trying to hide in that book of hers? I had caught a glimpse of some of the writing in someone's handwriting, probably hers, and the words "I am" repeated several times. What was it? Not that I wanted to get to know her better or anything; I was just curious. Simple curiosity, that's all.


	6. Fly By

**A/N: So posting early 'cause I'm being dragged somewhere… Anyway, I seriously hope you're all enjoying the story! Once school starts (in like 5 days), my posting is probably gonna slow down A LOT. I'm sorry in advance. .**

**As usual, belongs to Rowling… (*sigh*) Enjoy and reviews please! :)**

The rest of the year was a blur. Even if we were only in our first year of Hogwarts, we had gotten used to most of the happenings in the castle. Quidditch was interesting but not so much that I felt the need to go to every match. Hogwarts, despite being a school of magic, was a school at heart. Classes, homework, tests and the like were all still there just with an extra bit (magic!) thrown it.

The winter months passed us by in a flurry of bitter winds and a smattering of snow before slowly transforming into the warmer, brighter springtime. Then the spring bloomed with greenery cared for by the constant sun and rain and before we knew it June was upon us. With it came blue skies, high temperatures, laziness, and _final exams_. Holy Circe, I was scared to, well, not death, but more unconsciousness. But that just isn't as dramatic as being scared to death. Even if death seemed way more interesting…

Ally, focus! Exams! Study! Then when you ace all of your exams, you'll be able to enjoy the summer fully. You can sit by the Black Lake and write all the poetry you want while not having to worry about classes and homework and exams. You can stare at the blue sky and the fluffy white clouds and the trees of the Forbidden Forest all swaying in the wind and… _Ally!_

I was never going to pass at this rate.

….

Once I had taken all of the stupid exams, I no longer gave them any thought and no longer cared. It was done and if I got good grades or not, I couldn't change that now. Of course, Lily just couldn't stop going on about how she had utterly failed everything and that she would probably have to repeat first year again and how she'd never be able to catch up with all of us and she won't have friends next year because she didn't want to be friends with the new first years and she was so stupid to ever think she could do magic and how could she have left her best friend Ally behind without a thought?

Oh wait, Lily didn't even _think_ that last bit. We still weren't on speaking terms after all these months. Heck, we were barely acknowledging each other! If she didn't crack by the start of next school year, I would because I couldn't stand not even being her friend anymore. I missed her bright smile and positive outlook on the world. And, to be honest, the boys weren't much in the way of friends for me as they kept to themselves most of the time. Not that they weren't entertaining, just that they were much closer than they showed.

I got my wish the afternoon before our last day. Nearly everyone was inside the castle frantically packing their trunks while I stood at the edge of the lake tossing pebbles (I had finished packing the night before).

_Plop._

_Plop, plopplop._

"If you're trying to skip rocks, you should use small flat ones, first off," Lily's voice said somewhere behind me.

"I wasn't going for that," I said shortly.

"Oh. Sorry."

Silence as I continued my rock tossing. The ripples caused by the pebbles would grow and grow and sometimes would make funny patterns with other ripples until they all died out and left a mirror-like surface. It was hypnotizing.

"Actually, I'm sorry for everything, Ally." She didn't continue, maybe wondering if I was even listening to her. I made a noise to let her know that I was. "I-I shouldn't have just ignored you like that when Severus came along. He's like my best friend now but you were my first best friend and it's not like you _can't_ have more than one best friend, right?"

"Even if I thought that was true," I said quietly, finally turning around to face Lily, "I don't think I can be called your best friend anymore, not after this year. We spoke maybe five times at most and they're not what you would consider a conversation! Best friends don't keep secrets and you have – we both have."

"But Ally I really miss you being my best friend!"

"We can't be _best_ friends right now but we can start again as friends."

Lily sighed softly and nodded. "Friends, then."

"I've missed you too, Lils," I whispered before leaving Lily standing alone at the lake and walking back to the castle. On the way, I wondered if she had caught my words.

Lily

"I've missed you too, Lils," I heard Ally say so quietly that I could have imagined it had I not been paying so much attention to her. She went back inside from the grounds without saying anything else.

Ally was so stubborn sometimes! Why won't she give Sev a chance? She may not have said it, maybe hadn't even realized that she had implied it, but I knew her well enough to know what the little signs meant; her fingers had twitched just the slightest bit when I mentioned Severus. Other than that, she was completely calm. Sometimes I wished that I was as good as Ally was with controlling my emotions. I hated the times when I was an open book to everyone (thank goodness those times weren't anything serious). But anyway, I could tell that Ally had something against Severus and judging by what she said, she blamed him for taking away her best friend. Plus, Severus didn't particularly like her either. If I was going to have two best friends, I would want them to be best friends with each other but with Ally and Sev that didn't seem likely _at all_. I guess Ally as a friend was as good as it was going to get.

The next day, Ally and I woke up around the same time. I woke the other three and told them Ally and I would go to breakfast first. The looks they gave me were curious, surprised, and tired. Was it really that odd? Okay, it probably was.

"Good morning, Ally," Remus greeted pleasantly when we had reached the common room. "And to you too, Lily." His greeting to me was a little hesitant, like he wasn't sure if he was seeing correctly.

I smiled brightly and replied, "Good morning, Remus!"

"Where are the others?" Ally asked.

"Last minute packing."

"Of course. Do you want to come down with us or are you waiting for the slowpokes?"

He thought for a moment. "I'll come. Their crazy shouting was starting to give me a headache before I came down here. I'll just let them know."

Remus ran up the stairs to the boys dormitories. Loud noises were suddenly heard, most likely previously blocked out by the heavy dormitory door. The noise stopped for a moment then picked back up again as Remus came back.

"Okay, let's go."

As we walked leisurely toward the Great Hall, Ally and Remus struck up a conversation about something or other. They directed some questions toward me but I felt out of place listening to them talk. Was it just me or did they seem closer than they appeared at mealtimes? I mean, Ally always sat with the boys but off to the side and not really a part of the group. Then again, this was Remus and he was the nicest of all of them so maybe he was just being polite. Or maybe Ally had made some other friends in my absence.

There were maybe twenty people at most in the hall when we entered. I guess everyone was still packing this morning. I followed the other two to their usual seat by the teachers' table and sat down next to Ally. Breakfast wasn't going to be served for another fifteen or so minutes so we just talked about something. Around five minutes later, the rest of the boys came in and sat on Remus' side of the table which was opposite ours.

"Why in the world couldn't you have helped us, Remus? We would've been done so much faster!" Black complained.

"If you three had packed everything earlier, you wouldn't be like this," Remus pointed out.

"But we had better things to do with our time!" Potter protested.

I shook my head at them. They were smart but sometimes they were just so stupid. Ally glanced at me and smiled like she knew what I was thinking.

"What're you smiling at, Allison?" Black asked. He had noticed our exchange? Why? Maybe he noticed me because I didn't usually sit here. But he hadn't addressed me so maybe it was Ally? Could Black have _feelings_? For _Ally_? Okay, that was a bit of a jump but I looked at him curiously as Ally answered.

"At how stupid you and James and Peter can be," she smiled sweetly. "See, this is why Remus is the best out of you four. He actually _is_ smart."

Black stuck his tongue out at her and Remus blushed a bit. Curious, quite curious. I really wondered what relationships Ally had with the boys. Ally, meanwhile, hadn't noticed Remus' red face and only rolled her eyes at Black.

We (meaning Ally and I; the boys were never quiet) fell silent as breakfast appeared before us. Things between Ally and I were still tenuous and I realized that they were going to be like that until we started opening up to each other again.

"Ally?" I asked nervously. I wasn't sure how she would respond to this.

"What?"

"Do you… want to sit with me… and Sev? On the train?" The boys' eyes all flashed at the mention of their enemy and Ally was biting her bottom lip. She glanced at the boys quickly before answering.

"Sure," she said without much emotion.

Allison

I wanted to be friends with Lily again but… with Snivellus, too? I doubted that it would ever actually happen. He doesn't exactly encourage friendly relations.

Two hours later, Lily and I were walking down to the castle boundaries with the other three girls in our dorm. All of us were hauling our trunks and owl cages (mine, Joanne's, and Mary's) and Robin had her cat in a basket. Once we got to the gates, we would take the horseless carriages to Hogsmeade station and board the Hogwarts Express from there. The carriage ride was filled with idle chatter that was just a bit awkward as I've never really had a conversation with any of them that lasted more than a minute.

We separated once we reached Hogsmeade and I followed Lily as she looked for Snape. It was difficult at first with all of the bigger students everywhere but, honestly, his hair made it so much easier. There was no way anyone else would have that kind of greasy black hair. Maybe he just couldn't afford shampoo and no one was willing to share? That would be sad indeed.

"Sev! I know you two know of each other but I'll introduce you anyway. Sev, Ally. Ally, Sev," Lily said with a hint of excitement, pointing at the two of us in turn. Really, as if we didn't know most of our year by now? We even spent Christmas together, however uncomfortable that was. Well, that was Lily for you.

"Nice to finally meet," I said tersely and stuck my hand out for him to shake. I half expected him to ignore me but he took my hand and we shook very quickly. I tried not to shudder at having to touch Snivellus. Childish, I know, but I couldn't help it.

"Same. Let's go find a compartment, shall we?" Snape seemed distant, probably because of my presence. Whenever I saw him talking with Lily, he was always very enthusiastic and chatty. Now, he spoke almost in whispers to Lily who was walking between us as if he didn't want me to overhear. Lily didn't notice anything different and answered in a normal voice.

The train ride home was boring. I almost wished for the boys to barge in and hex Snape. I sat by the window with Lily next to me facing Snape. Lily split her time between the two of us. I didn't mind but it seemed that Snape wasn't used to having to share Lily's attention with someone else. Well, ha! You're going to have to deal with it from now on, I thought almost viciously.

Calm down, Ally. Lily won't appreciate you torturing her best friend. And you've seriously got to stop talking with yourself.

….

July and August passed quietly for the most part. Then again, what could I expect from a normal life? The only difference from other years was that I often spent time with Lily (and Snape but I tried not to think about that too much) rebuilding our past closeness.

Our school letters came halfway through August and Mum was going to accompany me and Lily and Snape to Diagon Alley. Mum was happy that Lily and I were friends again because she had apparently noticed the tension between us at Christmas. Snape, on the other hand, she wasn't as sure of as she didn't really like his parents much but she didn't want to judge.

"Oi, Jones! What're you doing hanging 'round with Snivellus?" James called from the street as we entered Flourish and Blotts. We all turned around and saw that he was with his parents (though they looked older than I thought they would) and his dad was carrying a long, thin box that read Quality Quidditch Supplies on the side. Lucky him, getting a new broomstick. It was probably the new Nimbus One Thousand and One that _just_ came out (I swear, it was literally yesterday). I still had my Nimbus One Thousand. Darn that Potter.

Anyway, I had raised my eyebrows at James. With three adults with us, I would have thought that he had more sense to at least say Snape rather than Snivellus. He got my message and quickly apologized (I could see the pain in his face when he did).

"Neighbors. Mum thought that she might as well just take all of us together to make things easier," I replied.

He nodded and said, "Well, see you 'round in September, Jones!" The Potters continued their shopping in Diagon Alley as we entered the book store. Once we had bought our new school books, we all returned to my house by Floo.

….

I had spent nearly every day of the summer with Lily but I was really no closer to her than I was on the last day of school. Snape was a constant presence and I couldn't get between them much. Lily was doing her best to include me a lot more than she had before so it had to be because of Snape. He was so possessive of her at times that I almost thought he was in love with her or something. But twelve year olds don't fall in love.


	7. Just Another Year

**A/N: Alrighty, after this chapter, I won't be posting as often 'cause school's started again and senior year is gonna be a pain. . But anyway enjoy, review and belongs to JKR!**

September came and our second year at Hogwarts started. I sat with Lily and Snape again for the train ride. In the Great Hall, Lily and the other girls sat two to a side on my left and the boys did the same only on my right. I faced an empty space. Dumbledore's welcome speech was a little more somber than last year's because over the summer the first hint of a dark force had come: several unexplainable disappearances. No one had a clue as to what was going on and we all hoped that it wasn't going to be anything too horrific. We all went to bed a few hours after the feast ended.

The next day was a Saturday so classes wouldn't start until the fourth on Monday but we still received our timetables. Again, we all shared the same core classes: Transfiguration, Potions, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, Charms, History of Magic, and Astronomy (except Flying classes; that was first years only). We wouldn't get to choose other classes until the end of this year. I spent the Saturday with the girls just talking about mundane things that I couldn't remember for the life of me. On Sunday, I woke up early and went to the Great Hall alone like last year. I had brought my writing book with me to write in. Maybe the empty hall would inspire me to write some poetry.

_Vast and empty,_

_Full of memories_

_Long forgotten._

_Loud and crowded,_

_Endless chatter_

_Rarely remembered._

_Never really thought of_

_But always a part of_

_The lives we build._

_The days pass by but_

_Any secrets whispered_

_Are kept alive._

Not that great of a poem but I'm not a professional poet, am I?

"Why are you up so early, Ally? It's Sunday!" Lily said tiredly as she sat down opposite me at the Gryffindor table.

"Bored, I guess," I shrugged. "And I like seeing the Great Hall all empty in the morning. It's so peaceful compared to the rest of the day."

"You've done this before?"

"Maybe two or three times last year."

"How'd I never notice?" Lily stared at me questioningly trying to figure out how she managed to not hear me waking up so early.

"Guess I learned how to be quiet. Maybe. I dunno. I just got up and tried to make sure I didn't wake any of you."

"Have you gotten in trouble?" she asked worriedly.

"How in the world do you get in trouble for waking up early?"

"Filch. Or that stupid cat of his. Or maybe teachers who tell you that you shouldn't be wandering the halls alone."

"No one's ever really minded. Although Dumbledore did talk to me once, the first time I did this. He wasn't upset, just talked to me real quick. I've no idea what he was trying to say but that's Dumbledore for you."

By now, several more students had come into the Great Hall and I put my book away (Lily didn't seem to have noticed). We finished breakfast quickly and went over to the Slytherin table (which made me very nervous) to meet up with Snape. As we walked by, I heard loud whispers of "What are those Gryffindors doing here?" and "Ugly Mudblood." and "Don't let the Mudblood get too close to you." If Lily heard (and she probably did), she didn't show it. She simply marched on to where Snape was sitting.

"Are you done, Severus?" she asked when we finally reached him.

He nodded and got up from the table without looking at any of the other Slytherins. I had the feeling that he was embarrassed about being friends with a Muggle-born. Holy Circe, was blood purity that important to them? I mean, Lily was already fast becoming one of the most able witches in the school. The walk to the entrance hall was also filled with scathing remarks and disgusted faces.

Once outside, we sat under the shade of a beech tree right by the edge of the lake. Lily and Snape, as usual, were conversing about something or other while I tossed pebbles into the Black Lake and watched the ripples.

"…almost pummeled by the Whomping Willow yesterday!"

"Are those fluffy Hufflepuffs that thick?" Snape asked disdainfully.

"Sev, what -?"

I interrupted Lily. "Who almost got hit by the Willow?" The Whomping Willow was this violent tree that had been planted on the grounds and it would try to attack anyone who got near it. Dumbledore had warned us, like he did last year, to not go near the tree.

"Davey Gudgeon. Apparently, he nearly had his eye taken out," Lily said. She shuddered slightly at the image.

"You'd think people would listen to Dumbledore instead of being complete idiots and trying to touch the trunk!"

"But _why_ is the Whomping Willow here?" Snape wondered. "I asked some of the other people in my house and they said that it wasn't here two years ago, that it was planted right before we came."

"I dunno but who cares?" Lily shrugged.

"Agreed. As long as it doesn't try to flatten me, I don't really care about the Willow."

"But don't you find it odd how they chose to plant it when we come?" Snape insisted. Jeez, that boy just doesn't give up.

Lily finally got him to stop talking about the violent tree and I went back to my pebble tossing (I am such an exciting person! Not.). We headed back inside for lunch and split off afterwards to our respective common rooms. Lily, Mary, Robin, Joanne and I had all decided that we should have at least one girls' night a month since we'd be living with each other for all of our school lives. We didn't really have too much to talk about as classes didn't start until tomorrow. Lily was so excited about classes that you would've thought she was a Ravenclaw (Nothing wrong with that, I assure you.). Mary shared Lily's enthusiasm to a lesser extent and Robin and Joanne dreaded the next morning. Me? I was stuck in the middle; I loved learning new things but I hated homework and exams (well, practical ones were okay) to no end. It was a good thing magic was interesting or I would've shredded my brain ages ago.

….

Halfway through September were the Quidditch tryouts. I loved to fly and both Mum and Dad were sort of nuts about the sport. I figured that I'd try for a Chaser position and if I didn't make it this year, I could always practice (and/or maybe be a reserve Chaser) for next year. When I announced this to the girls one night about a week before tryouts, they were overly ecstatic.

"Oooh, that's amazing! I'm sure you'll get in!" Joanne squealed.

"Yeah, remember last year? You were the only one who could keep up with stupid Potter!" added Lily whose voice went slightly acidic every time James was mentioned. His and Sirius' never-ending quest to make life miserable for Snivellus was not going over well with her and she usually avoided them as much as she could.

Saturday morning, and the tryouts, came quickly and the girls came with me to cheer me on. There weren't too many girls trying out and James and I were the only second years. The team was missing two Chasers and a Beater as they had graduated last year. The captain, a seventh year named Catherine Walker who played Keeper, introduced the remaining members of the team: fourth year Chaser Benjamin Greenwood, fifth year Seeker Gwendolyn Hall and sixth year Beater Gary Sinclair. Catherine had all the Beater hopefuls go with Gary while those who wanted to play Chaser were gathered by the hoops on one side of the field.

"Okay, everyone, I want you to try and get as many goals as you can past me in ten tries. Then, the top ten will play with Ben against me," Catherine directed.

Even though James and I were the youngest there, it was amazing to see that some of the older kids just couldn't throw or aim. Most of them got maybe two or three and even those who seemed decent had trouble getting them past the Keeper, maybe five or six. By now, I was terrified. How in the world was a second year going to best an experienced Keeper?

My turn came too soon. I was the second to last to go (James was last) and Catherine was barely winded. I zoomed up to the goal posts and caught the Quaffle that Catherine threw at me. The bright red ball was ridiculously large in my hands but I managed to keep a grip on it. I took a deep breath and pretended that it was still summer and that I was playing against my father. After much feinting and use of some rather tricky maneuvers, I somehow got seven goals in. I could hear the girls whooping from the stands.

When I landed, James grinned and said, "Good run, Jones. Bet I'll beat that."

I rolled my eyes at him before he got up to the goal posts with his Nimbus One Thousand and One. Of course he was going to be that arrogant; he had already proved that he was a good flier last year. Sadly, as I watched, his arrogance was (sort of) allowed. James managed to get a shocking _nine_ goals in. Was there anything he _couldn't_ do? Probably not. How depressing.

Catherine then sent eight others with me and James to Ben. Ben had a quick talk with all of us before taking us one by one to play with him against Catherine. The fourth years were friends with Ben and a few might have thought that that was enough to get on the team because they didn't try very hard. Still, a good number of them worked very well with Ben and that just made me even more nervous than before. Seriously, my hands were shaking.

"Jones, let's go!" Ben called. "We're going to pass back and forth a few times from one end of the field to where Cathy is and then I want you to try to get a shot in."

We flew to the opposite end of the field and Ben tossed the Quaffle to me. We went down the field, passing the Quaffle back and forth quickly. I dropped it once, had to unexpectedly dodge a Bludger that Gary Sinclair sent toward me (he had been sending one at each of us as we flew past him), and fumbled a few other times before we reached the other end. Catherine was hovering in front of the center hoop and waited for me to shoot. I flew to her left (my right) and she followed me. I threw the Quaffle up a bit and smacked it with my left hand into the goal on my left. Catherine had tried to stop the Quaffle from flying into the unprotected hoop but missed by centimeters. Why was I doing this?! My heart was pounding wildly in my chest and this was only tryouts!

James obviously had no trouble with this last bit of the tryouts. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that he was going to be one of the new Chasers. He was the first new member announced by Catherine. She then had to have a quick discussion with Ben before announcing the third Chaser.

"This choice was a bit difficult to make but Ben and I are going to choose Allison Jones as our third Chaser."

Indignant voices started protesting at that choice.

"What?! She's only a second year!"

"She just got lucky with those goals! There's no way she can do that!"

"You probably went easy on her!"

"Oi! Shut it, all of you!" Gary yelled loudly. "There are reasons why she was picked! So follow Jones's example and be quiet!"

A few of them glared at me before turning to face Catherine.

"First of all, she seems to be more mature than the lot of you and works well with Ben. Second, some of her goals may have been luck but she's also clever enough to come up with some tricky moves like that last one that she used. Lastly, she dodged Gary's Bludger extremely well and good dodging is necessary in a spectacular Chaser," Catherine listed. "You keep complaining and you'll just prove that you aren't mature enough."

"Alright, our new Beater is going to be David Anderson," said Gary. He also named some new reserves for Chaser and Beater. Tryouts were over and I was completely overwhelmed. James and I met up with the rest of our friends who had been sitting in the stands waiting for us.

"Ally!" Lily cried happily. "You were great and so amazing and… oh! I'm just so happy for you!"

"James, mate, how'd you miss that last goal?" Sirius joked as he clapped James on the back. "I'm disappointed."

Mary sighed at the boys who were now jumping up and down in the stands. "Let's get back inside, why don't we?" she whispered to us. We all nodded and started back.

We had lunch and headed back to the Gryffindor common room to finish some homework. About halfway between lunch and dinner, the boys came bounding in. Sirius imitated a fanfare and swept his arms out wide. "I introduce to you James Potter, Gryffindor Chaser!"

Everyone in the common room ignored them but James and Sirius weren't fazed at all. They really needed to deflate their heads some. Remus and Peter were looking appropriately embarrassed and quietly walked up the stairs to their dormitory. James and Sirius, meanwhile, strutted through the common room and up the stairs. Idiots.

Lily

As Black strutted by our table, I noticed that he tried to inconspicuously look at Ally. I wasn't sure why but I didn't bring it up. Who knows what that egotistical jerk thinking. Whatever, not my concern.

….

Sirius

Why was Evans staring at me like that? If I didn't know better, I would've thought she fancied me. She had been staring at me with the look of someone trying to figure a difficult problem out and whenever her friends called her out on her staring she didn't blush. Instead, she just waved it off with some excuse that the girls accepted. I really didn't get that girl.


	8. Full Moon's Secret

**A/N: Jeez, it's been like a month since I've posted anything! I'm sorry! Updates are going to slow down a lot because it's senior year and there's just a ridiculous amount things I have to do. I'll still try to update around every three weeks if I can. Anyway, I'll shut up so you can enjoy this chapter. Reviews please! And still belongs to JKR.**

* * *

James

"Mr. Lupin, are you feeling well?" McGonagall asked a pale-looking Remus. He mumbled something unintelligible. McGonagall sighed heavily. "Go to the hospital wing, Mr. Lupin. Do you need any help getting there?"

Remus said no and packed his bag before exiting the classroom. I hoped he was alright; there were always a few days each month when he would get really sick and have to miss out on classes. For some reason, none of the teachers would ever give Remus detention for missing so many lessons. When Sirius and I tried to fake sick (on different days with different teachers obviously), we were given detention.

"Potter!" McGonagall snapped. "Pay attention!"

Sirius snickered quietly at my being caught. I apologized and focused on lessons for the rest of the day. Remus hadn't returned by dinner and I didn't want to mention this to Sirius and Peter in the Great Hall. Actually, I wouldn't get a chance to say anything until I came back from Quidditch practice.

I felt a tap on my shoulder near the end of dinner. It was Ally. "Hey, James, let's go."

"Give me a moment, Jones. I need my strength," I replied, stuffing my face with some steak and kidney pie.

"Move your fat bottom or we'll be late and Cathy will have our heads!" she said impatiently. When I didn't move, she grabbed the back of my robes and tried to tug me out of my seat.

"Ally, dear, that won't work," Sirius smirked at her. "His bottom is too fat for any of us to move."

She stuck her tongue out at him and he did the same before some heavy object descended on my head.

"Ow! What was that for?" I asked angrily. Ally was calmly placing her _A History of Magic_ textbook back into her bag. She turned on her heel without answering me and dashed up the stairs toward Gryffindor tower. I sighed.

"See you later, guys. Wait for me, will you? I wanna talk to you two about something later." Sirius and Peter nodded and I went to retrieve my broomstick for practice. The rest of the team was already on the field when I arrived. I checked my watch: a minute to eight. Whew. Just in time.

Cathy had us practice for half an hour before allowing us a five minute break. We usually didn't have breaks but she's been pushing us a lot more as our first match of the season drew nearer. Ally beckoned me over to one of the goal posts where she liked to sit in the hoop. That girl was _seriously_ weird.

"Is Remus okay? He looked bad in Transfiguration this morning," said Ally worriedly.

"Dunno. This happens every month but I've never really noticed until now. Great friend I am."

"I'm sure you're a perfectly good friend to him," she reassured. She tipped her head up to look at the sky. I looked too and saw that the moon was out. "Full moon's tomorrow, right? Isn't it funny how a lot of things happen when the full moon's out in the magical world?"

We were called back into practice before I got a chance to answer her. All of my thoughts were put out of my mind as Cathy made us practice different maneuvers and formations over and over again. We were all exhausted by the end. Still, I had to talk to Sirius and Peter so I dragged my tired body up the stairs to Gryffindor tower with the rest of the team. As soon as I entered the dormitory, Sirius hauled me over to his bed.

"What did you want to talk about, mate? You seemed really worried at dinner."

"Yeah, you looked a bit pale," Peter agreed.

"Just, have you noticed that Remus is always sick or has to go somewhere every month? And that the teachers never say anything about it?" I asked.

"I _have_ been wondering…" Sirius muttered. "Do you think there's a pattern to it? Or is it just coincidence?"

"Not sure. Do you two remember exactly when this would happen?"

The three of us sat thinking for a while about all the times that Remus had disappeared. I tried to remember if there was anything peculiar about any of the times it had happened. I didn't come up with anything noteworthy except maybe last month. Remus had seemed fine at the Quidditch tryouts but he fell ill only a few days afterward. Thinking of Quidditch made me think of today's practice which made me think of –

"The full moon!"

"What?"

"Huh?"

"Guys!" I said excitedly. "I think that there was a full moon every time that Remus disappeared!"

"So?" Peter was clueless but Sirius seemed to be catching on.

"You don't think… Could he be? Are you saying that…Remus is a-a werewolf?!" Sirius whispered.

"A were-?" I clamped my hand over Peter's mouth before he could say "werewolf" out loud for everyone to hear.

There was a knock on our door and it opened to reveal Ally. Bloody h-.

"Were you eavesdropping on us?" Sirius hissed angrily.

"I-I was coming to tell James that practice is moved to tomorrow morning. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hear…" she trailed off, looking pale.

"I know you didn't. We're probably wrong anyway," I tried to shrug nonchalantly. Ally shook her head and shut the door before sitting down on the floor.

"You might be right. Just a few minutes ago, McGonagall came into the common room and nearly yelled at Cathy for scheduling practice on the night of a full moon, said that she should be more careful. She also warned Cathy to not have practice when there was a full moon ever again. Why else would McGonagall be so livid?"

"Then… that means Remus really is…" I said weakly. Sirius looked as pale as Ally and Peter's eyes were wide as saucers. Well, h-. One of our best friends was a werewolf.

* * *

Allison

I promised the boys that I wouldn't mention a thing to anyone about Remus. They seemed resolved to not let that fact change their friendship with him and I wouldn't either. Sure, werewolves are basically monsters but that was only once a month and it wasn't like it was their fault. Remus was much too nice to ever want to purposely hurt someone without a really good reason. Besides, he had already gotten through first year without any incidents so it was probably best if I put this out of my mind for now.

Remus was back in school by the twenty-third, a Monday. He looked absolutely awful; he was pale and tired-looking, there were bags under his brown eyes, and an air of exhaustion pulled on him like a heavy cloak.

James and Sirius pulled me aside later that day while Remus and Peter were talking. Lily looked at me curiously but let me go. The other girls were too immersed in their conversation to notice anything else.

"Allison, we _have_ to tell Remus that we know," said James urgently.

"He shouldn't have to deal with this alone," Sirius added resolutely.

"You're right. When should we tell him?"

"Sometime this weekend. Schoolwork's difficult enough without everything else thrown in."

"One more thing: we have practice Saturday morning. Cathy's booked the field for seven. I swear that she's trying to murder us before our first game," James said unhappily, rolling his eyes.

"But our team will never win if she does manage that," I reasoned. We got to class just moments before the bell rang.

James and I came back from Quidditch practice in time for lunch with everyone on Saturday. When we were about to leave to do whatever, James and Sirius exchanged a look. It wasn't their usual mischievous one – this one was much grimmer – and Lily and Remus took notice.

"Is something wrong?" Remus asked worriedly.

"Just, we need to talk. The four of us and Ally." James was whispering but Lily still managed to hear.

"Why's Ally included? You aren't going to do something that's going to get her in trouble are you? That would be a really stupid thing to do, Potter," Lily hissed.

I sighed quietly. Why couldn't this be easier? "Lils, don't worry," I reassured, "I'll be fine. Just leave it."

"No!" she insisted. "I don't trust them, Ally. They're troublemakers, all of them, some way or another. If you want to go with them, then I'm going, too!"

I sighed again, more heavily this time. Remus was going to freak already about us knowing. We didn't need to add another person in. That meant that the boys would have to tell Remus without me. "Then I'm not going."

"What -?"

"But -"

"No," I said firmly. "This is important for the four of you. I just walked into this by accident so this doesn't have to include me. Go. Now."

The boys finally left and I spent the rest of the day with Lily and Snape. It was a good thing that I didn't go; Snape would've followed Lily and we _really_ didn't need more reasons for him to hate the boys.

* * *

James

"So what's so important that we have to discuss it here?" Remus asked the moment the door to our dormitory was shut tight.

"We know," Sirius said simply.

"You…know? About what?" Remus was completely confused.

"You being a werewolf," said Peter. Oh, bloody h-! We were trying to break this to him slowly! Sirius and I groaned at Peter.

Remus was pale and frozen. It took him a few moments to remember he had a mouth and a voice. "I'm not a werewolf," he said, too quickly to be believable.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "We're your _best friends_. And we're not stupid. We know what you are and we don't care!"

"Well, you should care! You should be running the h- away from me, trying to get as far away as you can! It's too dangerous for you to be my friend!" Remus exclaimed, though not loud enough to be heard outside of this room.

"If you think that you're so dangerous, why are _you_ still friends with _us_?" snapped Sirius.

"You _need_ us, Remus. You need friends who are going to stand by you no matter what and we're going to do just that."

"And we promise not to tell anyone," Peter added. "Well, aside from Jones but –"

"You told Ally?!"

Oh, Peter, you need to learn how to not make people explode every few minutes.

I grimaced slightly before trying to sooth Remus, "No, we didn't tell Ally. She just…overheard."

"Overheard? Oh, tell the _whole world_ why don't you? How loudly were you talking that she could overhear?!"

"We weren't talking that loudly…" Peter said quietly.

"Remus, calm down, will you?" I said. "She was right outside the door 'cause she had to talk to me. It's fine and –"

"No! It's not fine!" Remus cried almost hysterically. I don't think any of us have seen him like this before. "Even if you all seem to be alright with my 'condition,' you won't be later on! You weren't supposed to find out! This was the first time that I truly had any friends and –"

"Remus John Lupin!" Sirius barked, "Don't you dare think that we would care about your _condition_! We are your friends, your _best friends_! If you think for a moment that we would abandon you, I swear, I will strap you to one of the Willow's branches!"

Remus shut up and, after a few attempts at talking back, slumped down onto his bed. A moment later, it seemed that he had decided to sleep rather than argue with us about the dangers of being his friend.


End file.
